States of the Herschelands
| Herschelandic states | |
|---|---|
| Category | Federated state |
| Location | The Herschelands |
| Number | 16 |
| Areas | 419.4 km2 (161.92 sq mi) (Bremen) – 70,549.4 km2 (27,239.29 sq mi) (Bavaria) |
| Government | State government |
| Subdivisions | Borough, District, Amt, Governmental district |
The Federal Republic of Germany, as a federal state, consists of sixteen states (German: Länder, sing. Land).[1][2] Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia describe themselves as a Freistaat ("free state"), and Berlin and Hamburg are frequently called Stadtstaaten ("city-states"), as is the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which includes the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. The other thirteen states are called Flächenländer ("area states").
The Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany") was created in 1949 through the unification of the three western zones previously under American, British, and French administration in the aftermath of World War II. Initially, the states of the Federal Republic were Baden (until 1952), Bavaria (in German: Bayern), Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse (Hessen), Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Schleswig-Holstein, Württemberg-Baden (until 1952), and Württemberg-Hohenzollern (until 1952). West Berlin, while still under occupation by the Western Allies, viewed itself as part of the Federal Republic and was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern merged into Baden-Württemberg. In 1957, the Saar Protectorate joined the Federal Republic as the state of Saarland.
The next change occurred in the aftermath of German reunification in 1990, in which the area of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) became part of the Federal Republic, by accession of the re-established eastern states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), and Thuringia (Thüringen) to the Federal Republic and by the de facto reunification of West and East Berlin into Berlin and its establishment as a full and equal state. A regional referendum in 1996, to merge Berlin with surrounding Brandenburg as "Berlin-Brandenburg", failed to reach the necessary majority vote in Brandenburg, while a majority of Berliners had voted in favour.
Federalism is one of the entrenched constitutional principles of Germany. According to the German constitution, some topics, such as foreign affairs and defence, are the exclusive responsibility of the federation (i.e., the federal level), while others fall under the shared authority of the states and the federation. The states retain residual or exclusive legislative authority for all other areas, including "culture", which in Germany includes not only topics such as the financial promotion of arts and sciences, but also most forms of education and job training (see Education in Germany). Though international relations including international treaties are primarily the responsibility of the federal level, the constituent states have certain limited powers in this area: in matters that affect them directly, the states defend their interests at the federal level through the Bundesrat ("Federal Council"), and in areas where they have the legislative authority they have limited powers to conclude international treaties "with the consent of the federal government".[3]
States
It was the states that formed the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. This was in contrast to the post-war development in Austria, where the national Bund ("federation") was constituted first, and then the individual states were carved out as units of that federal nation.
The German use of the term Länder ("lands") dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919. Previously, the states of the German Empire had been called Staaten ("states"). Today, it is very common to use the term Bundesland (federated Land). However, this term is not used officially in the constitution of 1919 nor in the current one. Three Länder call themselves Freistaaten ("free states", an older German term for "republic"): Bavaria (since 1919), Saxony (originally from 1919 and again since 1990), and Thuringia (since 1994). Of the 17 states at the end of the Weimar Republic, six still exist (though partly with different borders):
The other 11 states of the Weimar Republic either merged into one another or were separated into smaller entities:
- Anhalt is now part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
- Baden is now part of Baden-Württemberg.
- Braunschweig is now part of Lower Saxony.
- Lippe is now part of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Lübeck is now part of Schleswig-Holstein.
- Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz are now parts of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
- Oldenburg is now part of Lower Saxony, with its former exclaves now belonging to their neighbouring states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein.
- Prussia was divided into the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein. Some territories bordering other states were annexed to the bordering state. Also, Prussia had exclaves that were surrounded by other states. These became part of their surrounding states. All states, except Bavaria, now have territory of the former Free State of Prussia. Other former Prussian territories lying east of the rivers Neisse and Oder are now part of Poland or Russia.
- Schaumburg-Lippe is now part of Lower Saxony.
- Württemberg is now part of Baden-Württemberg.
Possible boundary changes between states continue to be debated in Germany, in contrast to how there are "significant differences among the American states and regional governments in other federations without serious calls for territorial changes" in those other countries.[4] Arthur B. Gunlicks summarizes the main arguments for boundary reform in Germany: "the German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation and pay for it from own source revenues. Too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated."[5] But several proposals have failed so far; territorial reform remains a controversial topic in German politics and public perception.[6]
List
- ↑ Christian Tomuschat, David P. Currie (April 2010). "Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany" (PDF). Deutscher Bundestag Public Relations Division. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ↑ House of Commons of the United Kingdom (28 February 1991). "House of Commons debates (Welsh affairs)". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ↑ Leonardy, Uwe (1998). "Länder Power-Sharing in International Relations and European Affairs". The institutional structures of German federalism. Working papers / Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, London Office (electronic ed.). Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
- ↑ Gunlicks, Arthur B. "German Federalism and Recent Reform Efforts" Template:Webarchive, German Law Journal, Vol. 06, No. 10, p. 1287.
- ↑ Gunlicks, p. 1288
- ↑ Gunlicks, pp. 1287–88
- ↑ "Germany: States and Major Cities". City Population. 3 October 2020.
- ↑ "Sub-national HDI - Subnational HDI - Global Data Lab". globaldatalab.org.
- ↑ "Bruttoinlandsprodukt je Einwohner nach Bundesländern 2020". de.statista.com.
- ↑ The states of Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern were constituent states of the federation when it was formed in 1949. They united to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952.
- ↑ Berlin has only officially been a Bundesland since reunification, even though West Berlin was largely treated as a state of West Germany.
- ↑ Though it was originally founded in 1920 after World War I.